A young, male wannabe poet in 1990s Sarajevo spends his nights in a cafe with a group headed by Muhamed Dedo, the most famous living Bosnian poet. To the group, the young man is known as Dirigent—The Conductor. The young poet holds contempt for Dedo's work but also craves Dedo's approval. One night, not long before the war breaks out, he shows Dedo some of his poetry, and Dedo tells him to stick to conductions. He leaves for America and never writes poetry again. The young man follows Dedo's career throughout the war, when he comes to international fame. The young man eventually earns a graduate degree and writes his own books. His admiration for—and envy of—Dedo are very high. Eventually, the two re-connect at a reading in Madison, Wisconsin. Dedo's health is failing, but the two go out for drinks and get very drunk. They attempt to go back to Dedo's home, where he lives with an American lawyer he'd met in Bosnia. She throws them out in the snow, and the pair retreats to a hotel room, where he carries Dedo to the bed and wraps him in a blanket for the night. The young man basks in the beauty of Dedo before recounting that he died that Tuesday.